Maricruz O.

Rodriguez Ortiz ENG1010 2:30-3:40 The Little Things Have you ever thought about the little things in life, those small moments, those small gestures that make you happy and give life its meaning? Have you ever looked at your family, your mom and your dad and wondered what it would be like if they werent in your life? An absence of any kind should make you realize and appreciate the small things that were surrounded by. Life has a lot to offer and sometimes an event or a situation has to happen in order for us to see whats really there. Geoffrey Royce Rojas was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. He is well known in the Latin culture for his music, and the genre, Bachata. His parents divorced when he was very young; growing up he didnt have that father he so desperately needed. In his song, Invisible you can hear the pain and the sadness hes been holding back from his parents divorce. All of his life, to him, his dad was invisible, since he was never around. He went through obstacles in life where he really needed his father: birthdays, days he was sick, his high school graduation and when he needed advice about girls and relationships. He wanted that bond. As he was growing up he saw his mom struggle to provide enough for the both of them. He didnt grow up with the nicest things, neither did he grow up in the nicest part of New York and life, without the support of his dad, made it a little more difficult and resulted in his mom struggling to make a living for her and Geoffrey. This song by itself is really strong and

meaningful. If you come from a family where you have both parents, its a little hard to imagine living your life with just your mom, but Prince Royces (his stage name) song really sucks you in and takes you back to a part in his life where things werent so grand. His dad not being in his life made him push himself to become someone better in life to provide for his mother and for himself. He wanted to give his mom the life they deserved. The absence of his father made him focus on important and meaningful things god blesses us with every day. Las Cosas Pequenas, the little things or the small events. The moments and memories that happen on a daily basis. A hug, a kiss, time spent with a relative or a close friend, even hearing someones voice whether it be on the phone or face to face. These are the little things in life that mean the most. None of us really take the time to appreciate what we have in front of us until those things are taken away for whatever reason. Prince Royce wrote this song to let people know that a simple hug means a lot more than owning a nice car or a huge fancy house. Not having his dad around made him appreciate what he DID have even more. Because his singing career started to kick off, he had less time to spend with his family and less time being with his mom. So as he was on tour, a simple text saying hi or a simple phone call meant more to him, because at that moment he felt as if he were at home. In life Geoffrey went through a lot of obstacles, he saw his mother struggle at a very young age, he grew up with no father figure and a lot of kids go through that kind of situation every day and are able to relate to that type of pain, to relate to that type of emptiness they feel. Nobody needs to go through that much to realize that the most beautiful things in life come from the smallest gestures or the smallest moments. What he went through is something I will never understand. Coming from a household that has both a mom and a dad, Ive learned to love those

small moments, and everybody should too. Most of us take life for granted and we solemnly miss the true happiness behind everything. We lose sight of what a simple touch really means.